U.S. patent number 8,688,145 [Application Number 13/201,801] was granted by the patent office on 2014-04-01 for method of transmitting counting response message indicating service area at user equipment in wireless communication system and apparatus thereof.
This patent grant is currently assigned to LG Electronics Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is Sungduck Chun, Sunghoon Jung, Youngdae Lee, Sungjun Park, Seungjune Yi. Invention is credited to Sungduck Chun, Sunghoon Jung, Youngdae Lee, Sungjun Park, Seungjune Yi.
United States Patent |
8,688,145 |
Lee , et al. |
April 1, 2014 |
Method of transmitting counting response message indicating service
area at user equipment in wireless communication system and
apparatus thereof
Abstract
A method for a user equipment to transmit a message in a
wireless communication system is disclosed. The present invention
includes the steps of receiving a first message containing an
information on at least one service from a network and transmitting
a second message indicating a specific area and a specific service
to the network in response to the first message, if wishing to
receive the specific service of the at least one service or being
interested to receive the specific service of the at least one
service. Preferably, the present invention further includes the
step of receiving system information for providing information on
at least one area.
Inventors: |
Lee; Youngdae (Anyang-si,
KR), Jung; Sunghoon (Anyang-si, KR), Yi;
Seungjune (Anyang-si, KR), Chun; Sungduck
(Anyang-si, KR), Park; Sungjun (Anyang-si,
KR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Lee; Youngdae
Jung; Sunghoon
Yi; Seungjune
Chun; Sungduck
Park; Sungjun |
Anyang-si
Anyang-si
Anyang-si
Anyang-si
Anyang-si |
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A |
KR
KR
KR
KR
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
LG Electronics Inc. (Seoul,
KR)
|
Family
ID: |
45348714 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/201,801 |
Filed: |
June 8, 2011 |
PCT
Filed: |
June 08, 2011 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/KR2011/004177 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
August 16, 2011 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2011/159055 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
December 22, 2011 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20120009947 A1 |
Jan 12, 2012 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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61354247 |
Jun 13, 2010 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/456.3;
370/389; 455/414.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L
1/1812 (20130101); H04W 76/27 (20180201); H04W
4/06 (20130101); H04W 48/18 (20130101); H04W
4/16 (20130101); H04W 48/14 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04W
4/02 (20090101) |
Field of
Search: |
;455/458,414.1
;370/389 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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10-2008-0071909 |
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Aug 2008 |
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KR |
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10-2009-0021268 |
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Mar 2009 |
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KR |
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10-2010-0030409 |
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Mar 2010 |
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KR |
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Primary Examiner: Siddiqui; Kashif
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Birch, Stewart, Kolasch &
Birch, LLP
Parent Case Text
This application is a National Phase of PCT/KR2011/004177 filed on
Jun. 8, 2011, which claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) to U.S.
Provisional Application No. 61/354,247 filed on Jun. 13, 2010, all
of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the
present application.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A method of transmitting a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Multimedia
Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) message by a user equipment (UE)
in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
receiving, by the UE, a system information block 13 (SIB13)
including information on a Multimedia Broadcast multicast service
Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area list, through a broadcast
control channel (BCCH) from a network; receiving, by the UE, a
first LTE MBMS message comprising information on one or more
services through a multicast control channel (MCCH) from the
network; and transmitting, by the UE, a second LTE MBMS message
indicating a specific area corresponding to an area of the MBSFN
area list and a specific service to the network in response to the
first message, the UE wishing to receive the specific service of
the one or more services or being interested to receive the
specific service of the one or more services.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving the
specific service in the specific area from the network.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: checking the specific
area related to the specific service based on the information on
the MBSFN area list.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the specific area corresponds to
the area of the MBSFN area list and is an area in which the first
LTE MBMS message is received.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific area includes at
least one cell for providing the specific service.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first LTE MBMS message
comprises an MBMS (multimedia broadcast multicast service) counting
request message, and wherein the second LTE MBMS message comprises
an MBMS counting response message.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE is in an RRC (radio
resource control) connected state (RRC_CONNECTED).
8. A user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system,
comprising: a wireless communication module of the UE configured to
transceive signals with a network; and a processor of the UE
controlling the wireless communication module, the processor of the
UE configured to process the signals, wherein the wireless
communication module of the UE receives a system information block
13 (SIB 13) including information on a Multimedia Broadcast
multicast service Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area list
through a broadcast control channel (BCCH) from the network and
receives a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Multimedia Broadcast
Multicast Service (MBMS) message comprising information on one or
more services through a multicast control channel (MCCH) from the
network and wherein the processor of the UE generates a second LTE
MBMS message indicating a specific area corresponding to an area of
the MBSFN area list and a specific service to transmit the second
LTE MBMS message to the network in response to the first message,
the UE wishing to receive the specific service of the one or more
services or being interested to receive the specific service of the
one or more services.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system,
and more particularly, to a method of transmitting a counting
response message indicating a service area from a user equipment in
a wireless communication system and apparatus therefor.
BACKGROUND ART
First of all, in the following description, 3GPP LTE (3rd
generation partnership projecting long term evolution)
communication system is schematically explained as an example of a
wireless communication system to which the present invention is
applicable.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of E-UMTS network structure as an
example of a wireless communication system. E-UMTS (evolved
universal mobile telecommunications system) is the system evolved
from a conventional UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications
system) and its basic standardization is progressing by 3GPP.
Generally, E-UMTS can be called LTE (long term evolution) system.
For the details of the technical specifications of UMTS and E-UMTS,
Release 7 and Release 8 of `3rd Generation Partnership Project:
Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network` can be referred
to.
Referring to FIG. 1, E-UMTS consists of a user equipment (UE) 120,
base stations (eNode B: eNB) 110a and 110b and an access gateway
(AG) provided to an end terminal of a network (E-UTRAN) to be
connected to an external network. The base station is able to
simultaneously transmit multi-data stream for a broadcast service,
a multicast service and/or a unicast service.
At least one or more cells exist in one base station. The cell is
set to one of bandwidths including 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10
MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz and the like and then provides an uplink or
downlink transmission service to a plurality of user equipments.
Different cells can be set to provide different bandwidths,
respectively. A base station controls data transmissions and
receptions for a plurality of user equipments. A base station sends
downlink scheduling information on downlink (DL) data to inform a
corresponding user equipment of time/frequency region for
transmitting data to the corresponding user equipment, coding, data
size, HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat and request) relevant
information and the like. And, the base station sends uplink
scheduling information on uplink (UL) data to a corresponding user
equipment to inform the corresponding user equipment of
time/frequency region available for the corresponding user
equipment, coding, data size, HARQ relevant information and the
like. An interface for a user traffic transmission or a control
traffic transmission is usable between base stations. A core
network (CN) can consist of an AG, a network node for user
registration of a user equipment and the like. The AG manages
mobility of the user equipment by a unit of TA (tracking area)
including a plurality of cells.
The wireless communication technology has been developed up to LTE
based on WCDMA but the demands and expectations of users and
service providers are continuously rising. Since other radio access
technologies keep being developed, new technological evolution is
requested to become competitive in the future. For this, reduction
of cost per bit, service availability increase, flexible frequency
band use, simple-structure and open interface, reasonable power
consumption of user equipment and the like are required.
DISCLOSURE
Technical Problem
Based on the above-mentioned discussion, a method of transmitting a
counting response message indicating a service area from a user
equipment in a wireless communication system and apparatus
therefore shall be proposed in the following description.
Technical Solution
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the
purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly
described, a method of transmitting a message, which is transmitted
by a user equipment in a wireless communication system, according
to one embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of
receiving a first message containing an information on at least one
service from a network and transmitting a second message indicating
a specific area and a specific service to the network in response
to the first message, if wishing to receive the specific service of
the at least one service or being interested to receive the
specific service of the at least one service. In this case, the
method can further include the step of receiving the specific
service in the specific area from the network.
Preferably, the method further includes the step of receiving
system information for providing information on at least one area.
More preferably, the method is able to further include the step of
identifying the specific area related to the specific service based
on the information on the at least one area. In this case, the
specific area corresponds to an area, in which the first message is
received, among the at least one area.
And, the specific area includes at least one cell for providing the
specific service.
In particular, the first message includes an MBMS (multimedia
broadcast multicast service) counting request message and the
second message includes an MBMS counting response message.
Moreover, the information on the at least one area means an MBSFN
(MBMS single frequency network) area information list.
Moreover, the second message contains an index of the specific area
in the information on the at least one area and an index of the
specific service corresponding to the specific area.
To further achieve these and other advantages and in accordance
with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly
described, a user equipment in a wireless communication system
according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a
wireless communication module configured to transceive signals with
a network and a processor controlling the wireless communication
module, the processor configured to process the signals, wherein
the wireless communication module receives a first message
containing an information on at least one service from a network
and wherein the processor generates a second message indicating a
specific area and a specific service to transmit the second message
to the network in response to the first message, if wishing to
receive the specific service of the at least one service or being
interested to receive the specific service of the at least one
service.
Preferably, the wireless communication module receives system
information for providing information on at least one area. In this
case, the information on the at least one area can include an MBSFN
(MBMS single frequency network) area information list.
Preferably, the wireless communication module receives a system
information providing an MBSFN (MBMS single frequency network) area
information list. And, the processor is able to check the specific
area related to the specific service based on the MBSFN area
information list. In this case, the specific area corresponds to an
area, in which the MBMS counting request message is received, in
the MBSFN area information list. In this case, the second message
is able to contain an index of the specific area in the information
on the at least one area.
In the above-described embodiments, the user equipment is in an RRC
(radio resource control) connected state (RRC_CONNECTED).
Advantageous Effects
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a base station
is able to provide an effective MBMS to a user equipment.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set
forth in the description which follows, and in part will be
apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the
invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention
will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed
out in the written description and claims thereof as well as the
appended drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of E-UMTS network structure as an
example of a mobile communication system.
FIG. 2 is a conceptional diagram of a network structure of E-UTRAN
(evolved universal terrestrial radio access network).
FIG. 3 is a diagram of structures of control and user planes of a
radio interface protocol between a user equipment and E-UTRAN based
on 3GPP radio access network specification.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining physical channels used for 3GPP
system and a general method of transmitting a signal using the
same.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for an example of a structure of a radio frame
used for LTE system.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a general transceiving method
using a paging message.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for a transmission scheme of MCCH (MBMS control
channel).
FIG. 8 is a signal flowchart for explaining an MBMS (multimedia
broadcast multicast service) counting response scheme according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of configuring an
MBMS counting response message according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
FIG. 10 is an exemplary block diagram of a communication apparatus
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
MODE FOR INVENTION
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments
of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings. The embodiments described in the following
description include the examples showing that the technical
features of the present invention are applied to 3GPP system.
Although an embodiment of the present invention is exemplarily
described in the present specification using the LTE system and the
LTE-A system, the embodiment of the present invention is also
applicable to any kinds of communication systems corresponding to
the above definitions. Although an embodiment of the present
invention is exemplarily described with reference to FDD scheme in
the present specification, the embodiment of the present invention
is easily modifiable and applicable to H-FDD or TDD scheme.
FIG. 2 is a conceptional diagram of a network structure of E-UTRAN
(evolved universal terrestrial radio access network). In
particular, the E-UTRAN system is the system evolved from a
conventional UTRAN system. The E-UTRAN includes cells (e.g., eNBs).
And, the cells are connected via an X2 interface with each other
Each of the cell is connected to a user equipment via a radio
interface and is also connected to an evolved packet core (EPC) via
an S1 interface.
The EPC includes MME (Mobility Management Entity), S-GW
(Serving-Gateway) and PDN-GW (Packet Data Network-Gateway). The MME
has an information of a user equipment or an information on
capability of the user equipment. Such information is mainly used
for management of mobility of the user equipment. The S-GW is a
gateway having the E-UTRAN as a terminal end point. And, the PDN-GW
is a gateway having a packet data network (PDN) as a terminal end
point.
FIG. 3 is a diagram of structures of control and user planes of a
radio interface protocol between a user equipment and E-UTRAN based
on 3GPP radio access network specification. First of all, a control
plane means a passage for transmitting control messages used by a
user equipment and a network to mange a call. A user plane means a
passage for transmitting such data generated from an application
layer as voice data, internet packet data and the like.
A physical layer, i.e., a first layer, provides an information
transfer service to an upper layer using a physical channel. The
physical layer is connected to a medium access control layer
located above via a transport channel. Data are transferred between
the medium access control layer and the physical layer via the
transport channel. Data are transferred between a physical layer of
a transmitting side and a physical layer of a receiving side via a
physical channel. The physical channel uses time and frequency as
radio resources. In particular, a physical layer is modulated in
downlink by OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access)
scheme and is modulated in uplink by SC-FDMA (single carrier
frequency division multiple access) scheme.
A medium access control (hereinafter abbreviated MAC) layer of a
second layer provides a service to a radio link control
(hereinafter abbreviated RLC) layer of an upper layer via a logical
channel. The RLC layer o the second layer supports reliable data
transfer. A function of the RLC layer can be implemented using a
function block within the MAC. A packet data convergence protocol
(hereinafter abbreviated PDCP) layer of the second layer performs a
header compression function for reducing unnecessary control
information to transmit such an IP packet as IPv4 and IPv6 in a
radio interface having a narrow bandwidth.
A radio resource control (hereinafter abbreviated RRC) layer
located on a lowest level of a third layer is defined in a control
plane only. The RRC layer is responsible for controlling logical
channel, transport channel and physical channels in association
with configuration, reconfiguration and release of radio bearers
(RBs). In this case, the RB means a service provided by the second
layer for a data transfer between a user equipment and a network.
For this, the RRC layer of the user equipment exchanges RRC
messages with the RRC layer of the network.
One cell, which constructs a base station (eNB), is set to one of
bandwidths including 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20
MHz and the like and then provides an uplink or downlink
transmission service to a plurality of user equipments. Different
cells can be set to provide different bandwidths, respectively.
A downlink transport channel for transporting data to a user
equipment from a network includes a broadcast channel (BCH) for
transporting system information, a paging channel (PCH) for
transmitting a paging message, a downlink shared channel (SCH) for
transmitting a user traffic or a control message or the like. A
traffic or control message of a downlink multicast or broadcast
service can be transmitted via a downlink SCH or a separate
downlink multicast channel (MCH).
Meanwhile, an uplink transport channel for transmitting data from a
user equipment to a network includes a random access channel for
transmitting an initial control message, an uplink shared channel
(SCH) for transmitting a user traffic or a control message or the
like. A logical channel located above a transport channel to be
mapped by a transport channel includes BCCH (Broadcast Control
Channel), PCCH (Paging Control Channel), CCCH (Common Control
Channel), MCCH (Multicast Control Channel), MTCH (Multicast Traffic
Channel) or the like.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining physical channels used for 3GPP
system and a general method of transmitting a signal using the
same.
If a power of a user equipment is turned on or the user equipment
enters a new cell, the user equipment performs an initial cell
search for matching synchronization with a base station and the
like [S401]. For this, the user equipment receives a primary
synchronization channel (P-SCH) and a secondary synchronization
channel (S-SCH) from the base station, matches synchronization with
the base station and then obtains information such as a cell ID and
the like. Subsequently, the user equipment receives a physical
broadcast channel from the base station and is then able to obtain
intra-cell broadcast information. Meanwhile, the user equipment
receives a downlink reference signal (DL RS) in the initial cell
searching step and is then able to check a downlink channel
status.
Having completed the initial cell search, the user equipment
receives a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical
downlink shared control channel (PDSCH) according to information
carried on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and is
then able to obtain system information in further detail
[S402].
Meanwhile, if the user equipment initially accesses the base
station or fails to have a radio resource for signal transmission,
the user equipment is able to perform a random access procedure
(RACH) on the base station [S403 to S406]. For this, the user
equipment transmits a specific sequence as a preamble via a
physical random access channel (PRACH) [S403] and is then able to
receive a response message via PDCCH and a corresponding PDSCH in
response to the preamble [S404]. In case of contention based RACH,
it is able to perform a contention resolution procedure in
addition.
Having performed the above mentioned procedures, the user equipment
is able to perform PDCCH/PDSCH reception [S407] and PUSCH/PUCCH
(physical uplink shared channel/physical uplink control channel)
transmission [S408] as a general uplink/downlink signal
transmission procedure. In particular, the user equipment receives
a downlink control information (DCI) via PDCCH. In this case, the
DCI includes such control information as resource allocation
information on a user equipment and can differ in format in
accordance with the purpose of its use.
Meanwhile, control information transmitted/received in
uplink/downlink to/from the base station by the user equipment
includes ACK/NACK signal, CQI (channel quality indicator), PMI
(precoding matrix index), RI (rank indicator) and the like. In case
of the 3GPP LTE system, the user equipment is able to transmit the
above mentioned control information such as CQI, PMI, RI and the
like via PUSCH and/or PUCCH.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for an example of a structure of a radio frame
used for LTE system.
Referring to FIG. 5, a radio frame has a length of 10 ms (327200Ts)
and is constructed with 10 subframes in equal size. Each of the
subframes has a length of 1 ms and is constructed with two slots.
Each of the slots has a length of 0.5 ms (15360Ts). In this case,
Ts indicates a sampling time and is expressed as Ts=1/(15
kHz.times.2048)=3.2552.times.10-8 (about 33 ns). The slot includes
a plurality of OFDM symbols in a time domain and includes a
plurality of resource blocks (RB) in a frequency domain. In the LTE
system, one resource block includes `12 subcarriers.times.7 or 6
OFDM symbols`. A transmission time interval (TTI), which is a unit
time for transmitting data, can be determined by at least one
subframe unit. The above described structure of the radio frame is
just exemplary. And, the number of subframes included in a radio
frame, the number of slots included in a subframe and/or the number
of OFDM symbols included in a slot can be modified in various
ways.
In the following description, an RRC state of a user equipment and
a corresponding RRC connecting method are explained. In this case,
the RRC state means whether an RRC of a user equipment is logically
connected to an RRC of E-UTRAN (i.e., logical connection). If the
RRCs are connected to each other, it is called an RRC connected
state (RRC_CONNECTED). If the RRCs are not connected to each other,
it can be called an RRC idle state (RRC_IDLE).
Since E-UTRAN is able to obtain an existence of a user equipment in
an RRC connected state by a cell unit, it is able to effectively
control the user equipment. On the contrary, the E-UTRAN is unable
to obtain a user equipment in an idle state by a cell unit and the
corresponding user equipment is managed by a CN by a TA unit that
is an area unit greater than a cell. In particular, in order to
receive such a service as voice and data from a cell, a user
equipment in an RRC idle state should make a transition to an RRC
connected state.
Specifically, when a user initially turns on a power of a user
equipment, the user equipment searches for an appropriate cell and
then stays in an RRC idle state at the corresponding cell. If the
user equipment staying in the RRC idle state needs to establish an
RRC connection, it makes a transition to an RRC connected state by
performing an RRC connection establishment process. In particular,
if the RRC connection needs to be established, it means the case
that an uplink data transmission is necessary due to user's call
attempt or the like or the case that a response message needs to be
sent in case of receiving a paging message from the E-UTRAN.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a general transceiving method
using a paging message.
Referring to FIG. 6, a paging message contains a paging cause and a
paging record including a UE identity and the like. When the paging
message is received, a user equipment is able to perform a
discontinuous reception (DRX) for the purpose of power consumption
reduction.
In particular, a network configures several paging occasions (POs)
for each time cycle called a paging DRX cycle to enable a specific
user equipment to obtain a paging message by receiving a specific
paging occasion only. The user equipment does not receive a paging
channel in a time except the specific paging occasion and is able
to stay in a sleep mode to reduce power consumption. And, one
paging occasion corresponds to one TTI.
A base station and a user equipment use a paging indicator (PI) as
a specific value indicating a transmission of a paging message. The
base station defines a specific identity (e.g., paging-radio
network temporary identity: P-RNTI) for a usage of the PI and is
then able to inform the user equipment of the paging information
transmission. For instance, a user equipment wakes up each DRX
cycle and then receives one subframe to recognize a presence or
non-presence of a paging message. If P-RNTI is contained in L1/L2
control channel (PDCCH) of the received subframe, the user
equipment is able to recognize that the paging message exists in
PDSCH of the corresponding subframe. If a UE identity (e.g., IMSI)
of the user equipment is contained in the paging message, the user
equipment makes a response (e.g., RRC connection, system
information reception, etc.) to the base station and is then able
to receive a service.
In the following description, system information is explained.
First of all, the system information should contain necessary
information a user equipment should be aware of to access a base
station. Therefore, the user equipment should receive all system
information before accessing the base station and should have
latest system information all the time. Since all user equipments
in a cell should be aware of the system information, the base
station periodically transmits the system information.
System information can be divided into MIB (Master Information
Block), SB (Scheduling Block) and SIB (System Information Block).
The MIB enables a user equipment to recognize such a physical
configuration of a corresponding cell as a bandwidth and the like.
The SB indicates such transmission information of SIBs as a
transmission cycle and the like. In this case, the SIB is an
aggregate of system informations related to each other. For
instance, a specific SIB contains information of a neighbor cell
only and another SIB just contains information of a UL radio
channel used by a user equipment.
In the following description, MBMS (multimedia broadcast multicast
service) is explained. First of all, MBMS (multimedia broadcast
multicast service) is a kind of a broadcast/multicast service and
is the service for transmitting multimedia data packets to a
plurality of user equipments simultaneously. `Broadcast/multicast
service` or /MBMS' used in the present disclosure can be
substituted with such a terminology as `point-to-multipoint
service`, `MBS (multicast and broadcast service)` and the like. In
the MBMS based on IP multicast, user equipments share a resource
required for data packet transmission with each other and then
receive the same multimedia data. Hence, in case that user
equipments on a predetermined level using MBMS exist in the same
cell, it is able to raise resource efficiency. Since the MBMS has
no relation with an RRC connected state, a user equipment in an
idle state is able to receive the corresponding service.
A logical channel MCCH (MBMS control channel) or MTCH (MBMS traffic
channel) for MBMS can be mapped to a transport channel MCH (MBMS
channel) The MCCH carries an RRC message containing MBMS related
common control information, while the MTCH carries a traffic of a
specific MBMS service. A single MCCH exists in a single MBSFN (MBMS
single frequency network) area to carry the same MBMS information
or traffic. In case that a plurality of MBSFN areas are provided by
a single cell, a user equipment may be able to receive a plurality
of MCCHs. FIG. 7 shows a transmission scheme of MCCH
information.
Referring to FIG. 7, if an MBMS related RRC message is changed in a
specific MCCH, PDCCH transmits M-RNTI (MBMS-radio network temporary
identity) and an MCCH indicator indicating a specific MCCH. A user
equipment, which supports MBMS, receives the M-RNTI and the MCCH
indicator via the PDCCH, recognizes that the MBMS related RRC
message has been changed, and is then able to receive the specific
MCCH. The RRC message of the MCCH can be changed each change cycle
and is repeatedly broadcasted each repetitive cycle. FIG. 7 shows a
transmission scheme of MCCH information.
Meanwhile, the MCCH transmits MESFNAreaConfiguration message that
indicates a ongoing MBMS session and a corresponding RB setting.
And, the MCCH is able to transmit an MBMS counting request
(MBMSCountingRequest) message for counting the number of user
equipments in an RRC connected state, each of which receives or
intends to receive at least one MBMS service.
A specific MBMS control information can be provided via BCCH. In
particular, the specific MBMS control information can be contained
in SystemInformationBlockType13 broadcasted via the BCCH.
As mentioned in the foregoing description, a network is able to
count the number of user equipments, each of which receives or
intends to receive a specific service, through a counting
procedure. In a counting procedure according to a related art, if a
network sends an MBMS counting request message, a user equipment
sends back an MBMS counting response message.
In the counting procedure according to the related art, the user
equipment is able to make the response in a manner that an MBMS
index, which indicates at least one service already received by the
corresponding user equipment or at least one service the
corresponding user equipment attempts to receive, is contained in
the counting response message. In this case, the MBMS service index
indicates a sequence or index of a corresponding service in an MBMS
service list contained in the MCCH information or the counting
request message.
According to the related art, if a counting procedure is
simultaneously performed in different MBSFN areas during a change
cycle of one MCCH using different MCCHs, it causes a problem that
it is unable to know a counting response message transmitted by a
user equipment relates to a prescribed one of the MBSFN areas.
Therefore, according to the present invention, in order that a
network capable of transmitting a counting request message per
MBSFN area for a plurality of MBSFN areas can clearly understand an
MBMS counting response message of a user equipment, the user
equipment having accessed the network receives an MBMS counting
request message for one MBSFN area and enables an MBSFN area
indicator indicating one MBSFN area to be contained in the MBMS
counting response message. For this, the network transmits a system
information block containing identities of a plurality of the MBSFN
areas. In this case, the MBSFN area indicator contained in the MEMS
counting response message indicates one of a plurality of the areas
contained in the system information block.
FIG. 8 is a signal flowchart for explaining an MBMS (multimedia
broadcast multicast service) counting response scheme according to
an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, in FIG. 8, a
user equipment transmits an MBMS counting response message to a
network only if it is in an RRC connected state.
Referring to FIG. 8, a user equipment receives a system information
block via BCCH in a step S801. In this case, the received system
information block is a system information block type 13 that
carries control information on MBMS. The system information block
type 13 contains a list of MBSFN areas provided by a corresponding
cell. For instance, the system information block type 13 is able to
contain a list that indicates an index of an MBSFN area to which a
corresponding cell belongs, as shown in Table 1.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 System information block type 13 =
{MBSFN#12, MBSFN#15, MBSFN#52}
Subsequently, the network repeatedly transmits an MBMS counting
request message during one change cycle via MVVH for a specific
MBSFN area in the step S802. In this case, the MBMS counting
request message contains a list indicating indexes of MBMSs, each
of which makes a request for an MBMS counting response.
Meanwhile, if an MBMS, which is being received or is going to be
received by the user equipment, exists in the MBMS counting request
message, the user equipment configures an MBSFN area index and
counting response list, i.e., an MBMS counting response message
containing an MBMS index list.
In this case, the MBSFN area index contained in the MBMS counting
response message indicates an MBSFN area of the MBMS, which is
being received or is going to be received by the user equipment, or
an MBSFN area corresponding to the MCCH carrying the MBMS counting
request message. Preferably, the MBSFN area index is able to
indicate one of the MBSFN areas included in the system information
block type 13 received in the step S801. In this case, the MBSFN
area index can be represented as a sequence of the corresponding
MBSFN area in the MBSFN area list.
In particular, since the list indicating the MBSFN area index
included in the system information block type 13 is able to
indicate total 8 MBSFN area indexes, the MBSFN area index contained
in the MBMS counting response message is preferably configured with
a 3-bit side field.
Moreover, the counting response list contained in the MBMS counting
response message, i.e., the MBMS index list indicates the MBMS,
which is being received or is going to be received by the user
equipment. In this case, it can be represented as a sequence of the
corresponding MBMS in the MGMS list contained in the MBMS counting
request message received in the step S802.
In this case, if a plurality of MBMS indexes for one MBSFN area are
included, the user equipment enables an index of a corresponding
MBSFN area to be contained in the MBMS counting response message
once only. Moreover, a channel of MBMS, which is being received or
is going to be received by the user equipment, i.e., an index
indicating PMCH can be contained in the MBMS counting response
message. In this case, if a plurality of MBMS indexes are contained
in one PMCH, the user equipment enables an index of a corresponding
PMCH to be contained in the MBMS counting response message once
only.
Finally, the user equipment transmits the above-generated MBMS
counting response message to the network in the step S803.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of configuring an
MBMS counting response message according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
Particularly, in FIG. 9, assume that an MBSFN area index refers to
SIB type 13 and also assume that MBMS refers to a PMCH (physical
MBMS channel) information list and an MBMS session information list
carried on MCCH. In particular, in order to check PMCH carrying
MBMS, which is received or is going to be received, the PMCH
information list is used. And, an MBMS session related to the MBMS,
which is received or is going to be received, is checked using the
MBMS session information list.
Referring to FIG. 9, if a user equipment receives a specific MBMS
via MTCH 5 in MBSFN area 1 or receives another MBMS via MTCH 7, the
user equipment enables such information as shown in Table 2 to be
contained in an MBMS counting response message.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 - MBSFN: 1 - PMCH: 2 - MTCH: 2, 4
In Table 2, {MTCH: 2, 4} indicates an MBMS session received via
PMCH 2 in MBSFN area 1. In particular, the `2` is a sequence of a
corresponding MBMS in an MBMS list contained in MCCH and indicates
an MBMS corresponding to MTCH 5. And, the `7` indicates an MBMS
corresponding to MTCH 7.
Meanwhile, in case that the user equipment receives all MBMSs in
MBSFN area 2, the user equipment enables information shown in Table
3 to be contained in the MBMS counting response message.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 - MBSFN: 2 - PMCH: 1 - MTCH: 1,2,3 - PMCH: 2
- MTCH: 1,2,3,4
Table 3 indicates that MBMSs respectively corresponding to MTCH 1,
MTCH 2 and MTCH 3 are received or shall be received via PMCH 1 in
MGSFN area 2. Moreover, Table 3 indicates that MBMSs respectively
corresponding to the received MTCH sequences, i.e., MBMSs
respectively corresponding to MTCH 4, MTCH 5, MTCH 6 and MTCH 7 are
received or shall be received via PMCH 2 in the MBSFN area 2.
According to the present invention, a network, which is able to
send an MBMS counting request message per area for a plurality of
MBSFN regions, is able to clearly recognize a presence or
non-presence of MBMS reception by a user equipment or a presence of
non-presence of a reception intention of the user equipment via an
MBMS counting response message sent back by the corresponding user
equipment.
FIG. 10 is an exemplary block diagram of a communication apparatus
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 10, a communication device 1000 includes a
processor 1010, a memory 1020, an RF module 1030, a display module
1040 and a user interface module 1050.
The communication device 1000 is illustrated for clarity and
convenience of the description and some modules can be omitted.
Moreover, the communication device 1000 is able to further include
at least one necessary module. And, some modules of the
communication device 100 can be further divided into sub-modules.
The processor 1010 is configured to perform operations according to
the embodiment of the present invention exemplarily described with
reference to the accompanying drawings. In particular, the detailed
operations of the processor 1010 can refer to the contents
described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.
The memory 1020 is connected to the processor 1010 and stores an
operating system, applications, program codes, data and the like.
The RF module 1030 is connected to the processor 1010 and performs
a function of converting a baseband signal to a radio signal or
converting a radio signal to a baseband signal. For this, the RF
module 1030 performs analog conversion, amplification, filtering
and frequency uplink transform or inverse processes thereof. The
display module 1040 is connected to the processor 1010 and displays
various kinds of informations. The display module 1040 can include
such a well-known element as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), LED
(Light Emitting Diode), OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) and the
like, by which the present invention is non-limited. The user
interface module 1050 is connected to the processor 1010 and can
include a combination of well-known interfaces including a keypad,
a touchscreen and the like.
The above described embodiments correspond to combination of
elements and features of the present invention in prescribed forms.
And, it is able to consider that the respective elements or
features are selective unless they are explicitly mentioned. Each
of the elements or features can be implemented in a form failing to
be combined with other elements or features. Moreover, it is able
to implement an embodiment of the present invention by combining
elements and/or features together in part. A sequence of operations
explained for each embodiment of the present invention can be
modified. Some configurations or features of one embodiment can be
included in another embodiment or can be substituted for
corresponding configurations or features of another embodiment. It
is apparent that an embodiment can be configured by combining
claims, which are not explicitly cited in-between, together without
departing from the spirit and scope of `what is claimed is` or that
those claims can be included as new claims by revision after filing
an application.
In the present disclosure, embodiments of the present invention are
described centering on the data transmission/reception relations
between a relay node and a base station. In this disclosure, a
specific operation explained as performed by a base station can be
performed by an upper node of the base station in some cases. In
particular, in a network constructed with a plurality of network
nodes including a base station, it is apparent that various
operations performed for communication with a terminal can be
performed by a base station or other network nodes except the base
station. In this case, `base station` can be replaced by such a
terminology as a fixed station, a Node B, an eNode B (eNB), an
access point and the like.
Embodiments of the present invention can be implemented using
various means. For instance, embodiments of the present invention
can be implemented using hardware, firmware, software and/or any
combinations thereof. In case of the implementation by hardware, a
method according to one embodiment of the present invention can be
implemented by at least one selected from the group consisting of
ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), DSPs (digital
signal processors), DSPDs (digital signal processing devices), PLDs
(programmable logic devices), FPGAs (field programmable gate
arrays), processor, controller, microcontroller, microprocessor and
the like.
In case of the implementation by firmware or software, a method
according to each embodiment of the present invention can be
implemented by modules, procedures, and/or functions for performing
the above-explained functions or operations. Software code is
stored in a memory unit and is then drivable by a processor. The
memory unit is provided within or outside the processor to exchange
data with the processor through the various means known in
public.
While the present invention has been described and illustrated
herein with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will
be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications
and variations can be made therein without departing from the
spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the
present invention covers the modifications and variations of this
invention that come within the scope of the appended claims and
their equivalents.
[Industrial Applicability]
As mentioned in the foregoing description, although a method for a
user equipment to transmit a counting response message indicating a
service area in a wireless communication system and apparatus
therefore is described mainly with reference to examples applied to
3GPP LTE system, the present invention is applicable to various
kinds of wireless communication systems as well as the 3GPP LTE
system.
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